Shalimar the Clown at Loretto-Hilton Center

It's the highly anticipated world premiere of Jack Perla and Rajiv Joseph’s "Shalimar the Clown," based on the much-admired novel by Salman Rushdie.

Shalimar and his beloved Boonyi grow up together in a pastoral Kashmiri village, making people laugh as acrobats and dancers in a traditional folk theater. They fall in love, a youthful romance that culminates in a joyful wedding. But when the new American ambassador meets Boonyi, he seduces with the promise of a new life, sending Shalimar down a dangerous path of revenge.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presents its 2016 Festival Season. The 41st season features OTSL’s signature combination of compelling new operas and masterpieces by beloved composers, including Giacomo Puccini’s eternally popular La bohème, Richard Strauss’s moving comedy Ariadne on Naxos, Giuseppe Verdi’s magnificent and murderous Macbeth, and the highly anticipated world premiere of Jack Perla and Rajiv Joseph’s Shalimar the Clown, based on the much-admired novel by Salman Rushdie. The season also includes the second annual Center Stage concert, showcasing the talents of OTSL’s young artists. The company’s 2016 Festival Season begins Saturday, May 21 and continues through Sunday, June 26.

All main season productions at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis are accompanied by members of the St. Louis Symphony and are performed in English, with projected supertitles.